Soothsayers, Diviners and Claims Contrary to Revelation

1. The governing principle about soothsayers and diviners

وَلَا نُصَدِّقُ كَاهِنًا وَلَا عَرَّافًا وَلَا مَنْ يَدَّعِي شَيْئًا يُخَالِفُ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَّةَ وَإِجْمَاعَ الْأُمَّةِ.
We do not affirm a kāhin (soothsayer), an ʿarrāf (diviner), or anyone who makes a claim contrary to the Book, the Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslim community.

Refusing to affirm means not treating a report founded upon soothsaying, divination or opposition to these authoritative sources as reliable. A claim to knowledge of concealed matters does not by itself establish religious authority.

2. Who is a kāhin?

A kāhin is a person who claims to report future events and occurrences. His statements concern matters that have not yet taken place.

Claiming to foretell a particular future event, its timing or outcome through soothsaying is characteristic of this practice. An impressive manner of speech, or the amazement of listeners, does not make such reports authoritative.

3. Soothsaying and dealings with jinn

The kāhin is described as engaging in worship of jinn and acting at their direction in order to obtain information. Through this association, he may receive reports about some hidden matters.

Information attributed to jinn is not the same as an authoritative proof. Such reports do not possess the reliability assigned to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ.

4. Mixing limited information with falsehood

At times a kāhin may obtain a piece of concealed information but then add many falsehoods before passing it on. One seemingly correct report therefore does not establish the truth of all his other claims.

Soothsaying combines fragments of information with fabrication. Attention to a single apparent success, without considering the accompanying falsehood, can mislead the listener.

5. Magic and deceptive imaginings

A kāhin may also employ magic and deceptive imaginings, rather than restricting himself to claims about hidden news. Such methods can create an impression of extraordinary knowledge or ability.

An effect produced through magic or deceptive appearance is not religious proof. This form of soothsaying draws people toward unreliable means and encourages them to accept unsupported assertions.

6. Who is an ʿarrāf or diviner?

An ʿarrāf, or diviner, is a person who claims to disclose concealed matters by means of particular objects and signs. His claims often concern something presently hidden from the questioner.

For example, he may claim to know where a missing person or stolen property is located. Particular signs are used to give an impression of certain knowledge about an otherwise unknown matter.

7. Claims about lost people and stolen property

Typical divinatory claims include:
Stolen property — claiming to know where it is kept.
A missing person — claiming to identify the person's whereabouts.

In both cases the diviner announces information concealed from the questioner. The subject changes, but the central claim remains the same: access to hidden facts by untrustworthy means.

8. Signs, stars and other claimed means

Diviners and astrologers claim to use stars and other means, drawing conclusions about hidden matters from special marks and surrounding circumstances.

Making these signs into an authoritative source of concealed knowledge is the problem. Naming a sign or following a procedure does not prove that it yields certain knowledge of hidden matters.

9. Distinguishing the two types of claim

The characteristic claim of a kāhin concerns future events, whereas an ʿarrāf claims to discover concealed things through particular signs.

The former is described through dealings with jinn and the mixing of falsehood into reports; the latter through reliance on stars and signs. Both fall under the refusal to affirm such claims as religiously authoritative.

10. Prophetic warning against consulting a diviner

مَنْ أَتَى عَرَّافًا فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً.
Whoever visits a diviner and asks him about something will not have his prayer accepted for forty nights.

This hadith gives a severe warning against approaching a diviner for reports about hidden matters. Even consulting such a person is treated seriously, because it gives attention to a claim that lacks legitimate authority.

11. The force of the forty-night warning

أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً
Forty nights.

The period emphasizes the gravity of consulting a diviner. The hadith uses the words «لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ», 'his prayer is not accepted'; a different legal ruling should not be substituted for the quoted wording.

Turning to the diviner in the hope of testing a prediction, or treating him as a trusted source, does not diminish the severity of this warning.

12. Claims contrary to the Book of Allah

الْكِتَابِ
The Book of Allah, the Noble Qur’an.

A claim contrary to what the Qur’an establishes is not acceptable. A soothsayer's, diviner's or other claimant's reputation, impressive manner or popularity cannot make his claim authoritative against the Qur’an.

A religious claim cannot be accepted while contradicting the Book of Allah.

13. Claims contrary to the Prophetic Sunnah

وَالسُّنَّةِ
And the Sunnah of Allah's Messenger ﷺ.

The Prophetic Sunnah is an authoritative source of religion. A claim that contradicts it is unacceptable, even if its claimant professes extraordinary access to concealed realities.

The criterion for acceptance is not the claimant's status but conformity to the Book and the Sunnah. This also governs claims made through soothsaying and divination.

14. The authority of the community’s consensus

وَإِجْمَاعِ الْأُمَّةِ
And the consensus of the Muslim community.

The community's consensus is presented as a strong and decisive proof. A claim opposing it is not accepted. Its significance in establishing the transmission of the Qur’an and Sunnah is a reason for placing it alongside these authoritative sources.

A personal prediction or assertion cannot override these religious proofs.

15. The decisiveness of consensus: Ibn Taymiyyah

وَإِجْمَاعُهُمْ حُجَّةٌ قَاطِعَةٌ يَجِبُ اتِّبَاعُهَا، بَلْ هِيَ أَوْكَدُ الْحُجَجِ، وَهِيَ مُقَدَّمَةٌ عَلَى غَيْرِهَا.
The consensus of the Companions is a decisive proof that must be followed; it is among the strongest proofs and is given precedence over others.

Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) stresses the binding and decisive force of the Companions' consensus. Personal intuitions, predictions and unsupported claims are therefore not preferred over consensus.

16. The standard for accepting religious claims

Whether a kāhin predicts the future, an ʿarrāf claims to locate a missing object, or another person makes a religious assertion, opposition to the Book, Sunnah and consensus prevents that claim from being accepted.

A reputation for revealing secrets, judgments based on stars, and reliance on jinn or magic do not constitute proof. Sound religious belief rests upon the authoritative sources rather than claims of access to hidden information.